MSU men's soccer falls 2-1 in double OT to No. 13 Northwestern

Audrey SimpkinsFor the second year in a row, Michigan State opened their Big Ten schedule against Northwestern, who won the conference championship last year.

The Michigan State Spartans were unable to hold an early lead as they fell to the Northwestern Wildcats 2-1 in double overtime. The Spartans have now lost three home matches in double overtime this season, and Sunday's loss marks the team's second year playing Northwestern in the Big Ten season opener.

The Spartans opened the match with high offensive pressure, putting the No. 13-ranked Wildcats in a defensive shell. The early momentum led to a 21st minute goal from sophomore Fatai Alashe for his first goal of the season.

"Adam [Montague] just laid off a good ball behind through behind the defense. I kind of got lucky, the [defender] poked it, I just got it back and pulled back and hit it as hard as I could," said Alashe.

The goal continued the momentum for the Spartans as they gained chances in Northwestern's defensive third.

"The team was pretty pumped up and ready to go get another one. And we almost got another right after," said Alashe

The second half saw the Wildcats play more like the defending Big Ten Champions, as they doubled their shot total from the first. Then, in the 74th minute, Northwestern took a corner kick that goalkeeper Bryce Dobbins was unable to contain and forced midfielder Jay Chapman to prevent a goal using his arm.

Audrey SimpkinsMichigan State supporters, the Red Cedar Rowdies, were joined by the Northern Guard of Detroit City FC to cheer on the Spartans against Northwestern.

"Jay Chapman took one for the team," said Dobbins. "Those are the big plays that I need to make."

The dilemma led to Chapman getting sent off and a penalty kick that Northwestern's Chris Ritter shot past Dobbins in the left corner. A man down, the Spartans played to a 1-1 regulation draw but was unable to hold Northwestern's dominating attack throughout both overtime periods. Eric Weberman finished the Northwestern comeback with a pacing strike from 26 yards out to win the match.

"We could have won it as easy as they could have," said head coach Damon Rensing. "We didn't deal with a couple of situations well enough and that cost us."

In a built up game that was televised on the Big Ten Network, another overtime loss at home could be demoralizing to the Spartans. But both the players and coaches emphasized moving on to the next match and continuing to improve.

Michigan State will travel to Columbus to play the Buckeyes next Sunday at 12 p.m. Ohio State will also look to bounce back from a double overtime loss of their own, falling 3-2 to rivals Michigan.

"Both teams will really be digging deep to get a result," said Rensing.

The evening's atmosphere was influenced by another full and passionate crowd at DeMartin Stadium. The Northern Guard Supporters, a supporters group of minor league team Detroit City FC, joined Michigan State's Red Cedar Rowdies in a celebration of the growing Michigan soccer supporters movement.

"Northern Guard brought a lot of energy and taught us new cheers to add to our arsenal of chants and cheers. It was crucial to our support and we had a lot of fun," said Michigan State student and Red Cedar Rowdies member Alex Byers.